Professional Organizer - Raleigh NC, Cary NC
My guest today is Kimberly Purcell. She’s the former owner of Culinary Artistry Catering and the current owner of Amethyst Organizing. Kimberly’s husband, Clay Purcell, is the Executive Chef of Tower Bridge Bistro, Sacramento, CA. To learn more about Kimberly and her organizing business, visit: www.amethystorganizing.com For more information on Tower Bridge Bistro, visit: www.towerbridgebistro.com
Kaizen is Japanese for change (Kai) towards good (Zen). Kaizen is all about bypassing the fight or flight response when moving toward change. Robert Maurer, Ph.D., in his awesome book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life (Workman Publishing 2004) says the way to do this is a simple 5 step approach:
Certainly I’d heard of ‘fight or flight’ before but had not appreciated how this mindset is a fairly normal reaction everyone feels at some point to greater or lesser extents.
Image: Shutterstock
Do you sometimes wonder how people are able to read books or scrapbook or pursue their passion when life always seems so hectic? The truth is that everyone has the same number of hours in the day. We all must take time to eat and sleep, but it is up to each of us how we spend the remaining hours of the day. Budgeting our time and prioritizing our tasks are skills that require training and practice. Breaking bad habits can be a painful process, but when you realize those bad habits, you may also realize that there is more to life than missing events and feeling like you may never catch up. Let’s see how list making can help you!
List Making to Simplify Your Life
I’ve been asked lots of questions regarding my 100 pound weight loss. “What diet did you follow? Did you use an extreme exercise program, what’s your secret?” Quite a few people are surprised to hear the first step I took was a massive clear out of our clutter. After months of on and off again in my attempts to eat healthier and exercise regularly, I decided to find out what was sabotaging me. One of the things I noted was how hard it was to balance everything at home, eat healthier, and make it out the door to go work out. There was a lot of clutter in the house from recent move after my marriage ended. There was never enough time and we always seemed to fall back on fast and unhealthy convenience foods. After a family meeting, my kids and I filled an entire room with things we did not need or use every day. Many items were donated, the rest we sold and used the money to buy a family membership to our city’s indoor aquatic center. By keeping a close check on what we brought home after our clean out we were able to budget enough to join the YMCA too.
Here’s my first Aquatics ID, almost 100 pounds ago.
One of the things we noticed immediately was how much faster we could get out the door. I’d created a “go bag” for each of us. These bags have everything we need for a trip to the pool and YMCA. The kids helped keep their bags stocked for the next day, all we had to do was grab our bags and jump in the car. Before the clean out we wasted so much time looking for everything. Often there was so much frustration we gave up and stayed home. Our family rooms are set up in a much healthier way too. Our fridge has a section dedicated to “on the go” meals and snacks I’ve prepared. This keeps my portions in check and makes life simpler since we now have to follow a gluten and dairy free diet. Now that we’ve made room for healthy options in our home, it’s affected every facet of our lives. I keep a workout bin by the TV so I can fit in a workout or stretching session while watching TV. Emptying our home of the excess stuff gifted us so much time. The time spent in the pool was a springboard for becoming fit enough to run my first 5k. A couple of years ago I started cycling for the first time in 15 years.
I don’t miss the “stuff”, taking control of the clutter brought us closer as a family. Letting go of the emotional attachment to things was a source of strength for me. The experience helped me finally let go of emotional clutter that drained me of energy. I say “no” when I need to, and make time out for myself without guilt. This stopped being a weight loss journey a long time ago. Success is so much more than a number on the scale, living a healthier life and making memories as a family is the best reward ever.
My son Nate and I after a long bike ride. He was so proud he could finally ride over 10 miles!
I’ve started a “Make Room To Lose” team on sparkpeople.com. Join me as we tackle fun team challenges to not only lose weight, but create clutter free ways to live healthier! Join the team here- http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=57813
Now go tackle the clutter and make room for a new life!
Tracey S. Wilson
Tracey Wilson lives in Durham, NC with her three teens. She enjoys aquatics, cycling, and has a passion for creating gluten & dairy free recipes. She’s been a member of sparkpeople.com since the beginning of her weight loss journey in 2006. “Encouraging others to live a healthier life is a privilege. Being healthy is more than a number on the scale, it’s so worth it, don’t give up!”
More and more internet users are discovering the advantages of shopping online. As kids get older, learn more about the possibilities of the Internet, and start wanting the same things their friends have, the appeal of online shopping becomes greater. As online shopping has grown in popularity, parents are finding it necessary to take extra precaution when allowing their children to surf the web in public and at home. The most effective way to ensure that children are safe while shopping online is by supervising their web activities or installing monitoring software. Children should not have access to their own debit cards without parental supervision. This will prevent them from succumbing to the temptations they’ll find on internet sites.
How to Keep Your Kids Safe when Shopping Online
Adults should be wary when purchasing items on their laptops when they are connected to public WiFi spots, because of the ease with which hackers can gain access to private information. Hackers are equally adept at accessing information from smartphones, so phone-crazy teens (and their parents) should avoid using smartphones to make online purchases.
The danger of using a debit card when shopping online is that hackers can access all sorts of personal information. Once they gain access to your bank account, they can steal all of your money within seconds. If you are unlucky enough to have this happen, most banks require you to report the theft within two days in order to get a limited $50 liability. If you fail to report the theft within two days, but do so within 60 days, you may still be financially liable for up to $500. After the 60-day period, you may lose all protection and be liable for the debt. LifeLock.com on Facebook posts daily tips online to help parents to protect their kids against identity theft.
Although identity theft and hacking can occur anywhere, at any time, well-known retailers typically have built-in security measures designed to protect consumers. When purchasing from an online retailer, look for VeriSign or Cybertrust labels.
According to Catherine McManus of Women & Co., parents should teach children that “free” items found online aren’t always free. This is often the case with apps and games that are specifically marketed to youth. Kids are drawn to exciting new tools for their phones, and may unknowingly download a host of different games or apps that rack up huge bills.
Parents who take the time to teach their children about spending and saving, and do so in real-life situations at home, are less likely to encounter situations in which kids make purchases online without thinking about the consequences. Use your child’s allowance as a teaching tool. If you take your kids to the grocery store, show them examples of things that you actually need versus things they want. Interactive games make excellent teaching tools for this purpose.
Children and adults need to understand the importance of choosing passwords that are not easily identifiable or recognizable. They should also create unique passwords for each site. Parents can have an administrative password for the family computer that will allow them to see things that are going on and trace Internet activity, so they aren’t surprised. While children may not be as interested in shopping for clothing, gifts or other material items, the lure of social media and games is tremendous. Parents who make the effort to educate their children about these potential dangers may save themselves, and their children, a lot of heartache. LifeLock’s Twitter page offers more tips for parents who want to protect their family and finances from tampering. Follow them and learn more!
I'm Geralin Thomas. My team and I offer real solutions for real people. A simple, organized home and workspace lead to increased confidence and productivity.
I may not be able to personally answer all submissions, but every email is read. I would like to hear from you.
If you would like to discuss our Organizing Services in the Raleigh NC area please call 919 380-7718 for more information.
